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Gabrielle “Gabby” Alguire earned All-American honors in the javelin the past three seasons, but the Susquehanna senior is in a good spot to go to the top step of the podium at this year’s NCAA Division III Championship at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, OH.
The Tunkhannock Area grad is the top seed with a toss of 155 feet, 4 inches, a distance she recorded winning the River Hawks’ Jim Taylor Invitational on March 25 in Selinsgrove. Alguire finished second last season (152 feet, 7 inches), fifth as a sophomore (144 feet, 7 inches) and seventh as a freshman (143 feet, 6 inches).
“Gabby has left no stone unturned in her efforts to be the best thrower this year,” coach Marty Owens said.
Owens can’t say enough about what Alguire has meant to the team and to the college.
“Gabby has epitomized the definition of the Division III student-athlete,” he said. “She has excelled in the class room and on the runway and as successful as she has been in both, it’s her humility about her accomplishments that stand out the most.”
Alguire will finish her career with four U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Awards as an accounting major.
“Gabby is an example of what can be accomplished when you put one hundred percent into what you do,” Owens said. “After watching her for the past four years, you can just tell that Gabby will be successful in all that she does in life.”
Two other former Wyoming Valley Conference athletes will be competing in the Division III Nationals. Lebanon Valley senior Olivia Jendrzejewski (Hanover Area) is seeded ninth in the high jump (5 feet, 7 ¼ inches). She’s shooting for her fourth All-American certificate after finishing fifth last year and with a second and a third indoors.
Widener senior Josh Colley (Tunkhannock Area) is seeded 20th in the triple jump (47 feet, 11 ¼ inches). He’s looking for his second All-American honor after finishing fifth in the long jump indoors as a junior.
Rome hoping to advance
William & Mary junior Regan Rome heads to Lexington, KY this weekend for the NCAA East Preliminary Round and hopes to be one of the top 24 finishers that will advance to the Nationals June 7-10 in Eugene, Ore.
The Dallas High grad will be competing in the 5,000 and 10,000 meter runs. Rome is seeded 27th in the 5K with a time of 16:10.03 and earned All-American honors in that event when she finished seventh last spring. She’s seeded fifth in the 10K with a time of 33:36.19. That came in the Colonial Relays on March 30, the only time that she’s raced that distance in her college career.
Another former Dallas High athlete, Cornell junior Dominic DeLuca, will have his work cut out for him if he hopes to earn a trip to the Nationals. He’s competing in the men’s 5,000-meter run and his time of 14:10.39 stands 42nd on the seeding chart.
West Chester in nationals
The West Chester baseball team is headed to Grand Prairie, TX for a first-round game against North Georgia in the NCAA Division II Championship on Saturday.
Josh McClain pitched the 40-11 Golden Rams to victory in a 12-7 triumph over Winston Salem State last Monday in Jamestown, N.Y. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound right-hander, a Tunkhannock Area grad, pitched the final three innings, giving up three hits, one earned run, with a walk and four strikeouts.
McClain is 9-2 on the season with nine saves. In 26 games out of the bullpen, he’s worked 52 innings, giving up 51 hits, 24 runs, 17 earned, with 20 walks and 51 strikeouts.
Solid season for Biasi
Junior Sal Biasi posted a 5-5 record pitching for the Penn State baseball team this season. The Nittany Lions finished 18-37 overall and 4-20 in the Big Ten Conference.
The 6-foot, 190-pound right-hander, a Hazleton Area grad, was named to the All-Big Ten Conference second team on Tuesday. He started 14 games and had a solid .348 earned run average. He worked 72.1 innings and gave up 47 hits and 34 runs, 28 earned, with 39 walks and a team-high 88 strikeouts.
Biasi pitched five innings and gave up five hits and three runs, all earned, with four walks and six strikeouts but didn’t get the decision in an 8-7 victory over Nebraska on May 18.
Big year for Fordham softball
The Fordham softball team posted a 46-16 record with an 18-5 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference and finished third in the NCAA Salt Lake Regional last Saturday.
Sophomore Chelsea Skrepenak from Dallas (Holy Cross High) hit .240 (25 for 104) in 56 games and 46 starts. She had five doubles, three home runs, 16 runs batted in and 22 runs scored and had two hits as the Rams dropped a 12-2 decision to BYU to be eliminated.
Sophomore Maria Trivelpiece (Hazleton Area) hit .236 in 41 games and 22 starts and scored 15 runs.
Panzarella key for Giants
The Keystone baseball team saw its season come to an end with a 22-4 loss to No. 4-ranked Cortland to finish third in the NCAA Division III Regionals last Sunday in Washington.
Sophomore Chris Panzarella had a big season for the team that finished 33-15 and won its ninth straight Colonial States Athletic Conference title. The Hazleton Area grad hit .371 (63 for 170) with seven doubles, two triples, a home run, 39 runs scored and a team-high 42 runs batted in. He earned second team all-league honors for his play.
Marriggi did the job
Junior left-hander David Marriggi posted a 4-6 record with three saves for the Towson baseball team. The Tigers finished 20-34 overall and 6-18 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
The 5-foot-9, 160-pound Coughlin grad led the team in games pitched (17) with four starts. He had a 4.18 earned run average. In 47.1 innings, he gave up 52 hits and 29 runs, 22 earned, with 24 walks and 44 strikeouts.
DiValerio sees action
Freshman Jordan DiValerio pitched in 12 games with four starts for the 21-25 St. Joseph’s baseball team. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound right-hander, a Berwick Area grad, had a 1-2 record with a 3.38 earned run average.
He worked 24 innings and gave up 23 hits and 12 runs, nine earned, with nine walks and 21 strikeouts. Divalerio picked up his victory in an 11-1 win over Lafayette. He started and pitched three innings, giving up two hits and an earned run while walking one and striking out two.
Stepniak wraps it up
Brian Stepniak, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound right-hander, had a solid senior season pitching for the Hartford baseball team. The Dallas High grad worked in 14 games with eight starts and was 3-4 with a 6.04 earned run average.
The victories tied him for the team lead as the Hawks finished the season 20-28 overall and 8-13 in the America East Conference. In 53.1 innings, Stepniak gave up 62 hits and 32 runs, 31 earned, with 14 walks and 36 strikeouts. He had pitched in a total of 24 games, mostly in relief, heading into this season.